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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25771960">Some Things Never Change</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/RaeDMagdon/pseuds/RaeDMagdon'>RaeDMagdon</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: Legend of Korra</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Bending, F/F, Fingering, Ice Play, Oral, Pirate AU, Wax Play, and fuck upstairs, they meet in a sketchy pirate bar, wtf I found this in my drive and forgot I wrote it years ago</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 06:36:19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,698</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25771960</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/RaeDMagdon/pseuds/RaeDMagdon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Kya's landlocked while her vessel undergoes repairs, and sees a strangely familiar face at the tavern...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Izumi/Kya II (Avatar)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>119</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Some Things Never Change</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Yep. Found this in my old works folder. Enjoy the rarepair!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Kya took a slow sip of her ale, wrinkling her nose at the taste. Its quality was fairly good — the amount she’d paid would have told her that much, even if experience didn’t — but that was actually a point against it. Since leaving home, she’d tasted almost every terrible ale the world had to offer. At some point, bad drinks had become a comfort.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Setting the mug aside, she leaned back in her chair: not a rickety stool that squeaked at the slightest movement, but a real, proper chair. It felt strange to sit in one, especially without the rocking of a ship beneath her. The sense of unfamiliarity made her nervous, although not as nervous as each swing of the tavern door as it opened.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She wished she hadn’t come here. It had seemed like a good idea at the time. Go inland, hide out in a slightly more reputable establishment than usual, so the Fire Nation navy wouldn’t find her. Ozai was a brilliant strategist, Kya supposed, in a big-picture way, but none of his captains had any mongrel in them. They rarely disobeyed orders, or came up with outside-the-box plans… like looking for her in a place like this.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That didn’t mean she was safe, though. Not by a long shot.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After a silent moment spent staring at her mug, debating whether to try the ale again, she settled for looking around the tavern she’d chosen to hide in. The venue hadn’t been entirely her choice. Her ship, the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Rebel Spirit,</span>
  </em>
  <span> was currently tucked in the local port while Bumi, her loyal brother and First Mate, oversaw the repairs. Though the vessel was still seaworthy, it needed a lot of them. Her last encounter with the Fire Nation navy hadn’t gone her way.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She scowled. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Don’t think about your ship. You’ll just get pissed off.</span>
  </em>
  <span> But she was already pissed off, and with the ale failing as a distraction, she had to resort to people-watching.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Normally, she enjoyed that particular pastime. Living the life of a pirate exposed her to all kinds of “interesting” people. Not tonight. Her fellow patrons seemed boring, to put it plainly. Spice merchants, perhaps a few minor nobles traveling with mediocre guards who weren’t worth their salary. The only good thing she could scrounge up from her observations was that none seemed like Fire Nation navy, or spies. None of the other travellers seemed suspicious in the least…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Except, perhaps, the cloaked figure sitting at the very edge of the bar.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It took Kya a second to notice them, which was strange in and of itself. Noticing people was how one stayed alive, and to overlook someone could be deadly. But when Kya did notice the slender figure with their hood pulled up, she detected an aura of competence that was absent from the rest of the crowd. The way they held themselves, relaxed but ready. Where they’d chosen to sit, with a clear view of the main door, but not far from the kitchens, which undoubtedly had another exit. This was someone who knew how to handle themselves.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The person at the bar noticed Kya as well, if they hadn’t already. As if sensing they were being watched, they turned, their hood keeping most of their face in shadow. Kya thought the stranger might be a woman, perhaps with a pale face — but that was all she got, and she wasn’t solid on it. The face turned away, and she was left to wonder.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Whoever they are, I doubt they’re Fire Nation navy...</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>A small voice in Kya’s head, sounding a lot like her mother, told her to leave well enough alone. There was an old Water Tribe saying about sleeping polar bear dogs or something. But curiosity had always been one of Kya’s most endearing, yet troublesome qualities — or so she liked to think. Once she noticed the stranger, she couldn’t let it go.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eventually, Kya waved over the nearest barmaid, a ruddy Earth Kingdom woman with a heart shaped face and a low-cut top.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“See that person over there?” Kya nodded subtly at the cloaked figure. “Serve them a drink, would you?” She withdrew a coin from the well-hidden pouch sewn into her clothes, flipping it into the barmaid’s hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The barmaid simply nodded. She’d obviously fielded much stranger requests.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After that, Kya waited. She watched the barmaid return to her post. Whisper something to the bartender. Watched him prepare a mug of something and slide it over to the cloaked figure… who immediately got up and disappeared, as Kya suspected, into the kitchens, without so much as a glance at her.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Interesting.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Kya strongly suspected that, whoever the stranger was, they were on the run from something or someone. People who weren’t generally weren’t spooked by a harmless mug of ale. It was a fairly typical gesture of flattery that Kya had received many times herself… although she’d mosty been curious to see what would happen this time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Something most definitely happened less than a minute later, when Kya heard the whisper of a knife being drawn and felt cold steel press into her back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Buying me a drink, Kya? Really?” Izumi asked, barely able to restrain herself from rolling her eyes. “You already had my attention. Could have saved yourself the coin.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She had hoped that, for once, Kya would overlook her. Or leave her alone. No such luck, it seemed. Wherever Izumi went, the obnoxious Water Tribe captain seemed to show up sooner or later — much to her consternation.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Is one calm night spent at a not-so-terrible inn too much to ask?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Apparently, it was.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Izumi.” Although Kya didn’t turn, Izumi could hear the smirk on her annoyingly attractive face. “The hood’s a little dramatic, don’t you think? Barely anyone knows you’re—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Izumi pressed her knife threateningly into Kya’s back, although the sharpened tip didn’t even pass through the fabric of her shirt. “Spirits’ sake, keep your voice </span>
  <em>
    <span>down.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“All right, princess.” Still refusing to turn, Kya took another swig from her mug.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Izumi was sorely tempted to knock it from her hand and splash the remnants down her shirt. “What are you doing here?” she hissed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kya set her mug down. “Drinking. You? Besides pointing a knife at my back… which I’m surprised no one’s noticed, even if you are hiding it with your cloak.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With a great deal of annoyance, Izumi realized that Kya had a point. Someone was bound to notice her standing awkwardly behind Kya’s chair sooner or later, even if they didn’t glimpse the steel of her weapon.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s talk elsewhere.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She half-expected Kya to protest, which would have caused a host of other problems. To her surprise, Kya rose from her chair and turned, staring at her with merrily dancing blue eyes. “Your room or mine?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Izumi pressed her lips into a thin line. She stalked away, without pausing to make sure Kya followed, and headed for the stairs to the second floor, where she’d already procured a room for the evening.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I hope you sprung for a nice one,” Kya said, her footsteps echoing on the steps behind. “This place is fancier than the dives we usually meet in.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That much was true, although it wasn’t exactly Izumi’s fault she often found herself in disreputable places. Hamstringing her grandfather’s Royal Navy left her with considerable coin in hand, but few places she was able to spend it without being recognized. Not many people knew Fire Lord Ozai’s son was still alive, much less that that son had produced a daughter, but a few did — enough that she’d learned to keep her head down and check frequently over her shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>One of those was Kya, thanks to the strange alliance formed between their respective parents many years ago. It wasn’t one Izumi particularly liked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They arrived at her room quickly, but also too soon. This was a conversation Izumi didn’t particularly want to have, but knew she must — or it would only encourage Kya further in the long run. She’d learned over the years that avoiding the infuriating waterbender tended to make her pop up even more frequently.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She ushered Kya in and closed the door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There was no need to draw attention to me at the bar,” she said, putting her dagger away and placing her hands on her hips. She no longer needed it. While firebending in the crowded downstairs tavern was ill-advised, she was more than capable of defending herself with her bending here, even if Kya was master of the opposite element.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Honestly? Didn’t know it was you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Izumi narrowed her eyes. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Really?</span>
  </em>
  <span> I’m supposed to believe that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Believe me or don’t believe me. Your choice.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why are you here?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ship’s got a hole in it.” Kya grinned. “Several, actually.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You aren’t following me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kya snorted. “Not everything’s about you, princess.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t call me that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But it makes your face turn such a lovely shade of red when I do.” Kya leered, the top row of her teeth on full display. “Fine. Izumi. Why are </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> here?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Izumi worked her lips again. “There’s a hole in my ship, too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kya chuckled. “Imagine that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now that I think about it, </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> probably led that Fire Nation battleship right on top of me while fleeing here. I blame you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve been blamed for worse. Sorry, for what it’s worth. The </span>
  <em>
    <span>Flame’s Revenge</span>
  </em>
  <span> is a beauty.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Izumi frowned. Of course Kya would be more concerned about her ship than any of the souls aboard… especially her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s salvageable, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Izumi hesitated, debating how much to reveal. While Kya wasn’t precisely her enemy, they certainly weren’t friends — and the times they had worked together had been under extreme duress, because they shared a mutual hatred of the Fire Lord. “Yes. Yours?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, Bumi’s patching her up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bumi. Right. “You shouldn’t have convinced him to run away with you. You know my father could have used him as—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“As what? Cannon fodder?” Anger flashed in Kya’s eyes. “Your father’s already got my father, my mother, </span>
  <em>
    <span>and</span>
  </em>
  <span> Tenzin. My family’s given enough to your stupid war.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It isn’t stupid at all, and it isn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>our</span>
  </em>
  <span> war,” Izumi said. “It’s quite necessary to ensure—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So why aren’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> there risking your life on the front lines, then?” Kya snapped.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“In case you haven’t noticed, I am. With a ship.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kya blew aside a stray strand of her brown hair, just starting to catch a few silver strands. Izumi couldn’t help but notice them in the low light streaming in through the window, the last remnants of the sunset. “You copied me. I started pirating well before you did.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You sink ships and steal all the shit on them. That’s pirating, no matter what other fancy shit you want to call it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Izumi resisted the temptation to clench her fists. Her palms were already hot enough with the effort of holding back her fire. Kya always seemed to bring out the worst parts of firebending in her — the anger and passion rather than the calm and balance that higher forms of the art also required.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Passion.</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p>
  <span>That had been a bad choice of words.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So?” Kya arched an eyebrow.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re stuck here together, aren’t we?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She nodded. “Looks like it, princess.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kya studied Izumi carefully. Although their relationship could be described as… tempestuous… at best, she had to admit, the woman was rather stunning. Her face, too narrow to be conventionally attractive, nevertheless held an alluring sharpness that drew Kya’s eyes. Her lips, pulled in a scowl, caught Kya’s gaze several times, and her nose, straight and regal, was softened only a little by the waves of her hair. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Like Kya herself, Izumi’s locks had taken on a few strands of silver before the usual time. They only made her look more attractive, as did the narrow scar, white and faint, that slashed beneath her left eye. Yes, the woman was irritatingly attractive, but a little irritation had never prevented Kya from enjoying such rare opportunities.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t have a room yet,” Kya said, giving Izumi a none too subtle up and down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Izumi’s frown deepened. “If that’s your way of inviting yourself to stay, it won’t work. Just because we used to…” She seemed to think better of her words. “If you’re telling the truth and you really aren’t here for me, go get your own room and leave me alone. I have enough problems.” Her eyes flicked away for just a moment, though, and Kya pounced on that brief show of uncertainty — uncertainty Izumi wouldn’t have revealed to anyone but her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>have</span>
  </em>
  <span> to be a problem,” Kya drawled, folding her arms and settling into a comfortable stance. She made no move toward the closed door, even as Izumi silently willed her through it. “C’mon, admit it. Sometimes I can be good company.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kya…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kya swallowed. Took a risk. That was part of her philosophy, after all: great risk for greater reward. And it had been a few years since last time. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Maybe a few years too many...</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tell me to leave one more time, and I will. Promise.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Izumi opened her mouth, and Kya wondered if she’d misjudged. Maybe Izumi did want her to leave — which she would do, as promised, albeit reluctantly and with more than a little disappointment. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But Izumi didn’t speak. She sighed and said nothing, which was the best invitation Kya supposed she was going to get. She stepped forward, crooking her index finger under Izumi’s narrow chin, sweeping her thumb affectionately across the tip.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You really are incorrigible,” Izumi said, staring down at her with fiery amber eyes. The edge of her lip just brushed Kya’s thumbpad as it moved.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kya’s stomach fluttered. That look had always done things to her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You wouldn’t change me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The first kiss Izumi gave her was firm, but not aggressive. A promise, perhaps, or a pact sealed. After a second of stillness, Kya tested the waters, running her tongue along Izumi’s lower lip, and earned a quiet groan, along with the sudden fisting of her captain’s jacket. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Typical. Izumi had never been good at keeping her hands to herself once things got heated.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After that, they kissed with the ease of old lovers. Kya knew the pressure Izumi liked. Knew how to slant her lips and stroke her tongue to get the sounds she wanted. Knew the right moment to cup the back of Izumi’s neck, beneath her hair, and rake her nails just so along the sensitive skin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Izumi fisted her jacket tighter.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a brief struggle as they decided who would steer whom back toward the bed. Kya tried to take the lead, but found it more difficult than expected. The familiar heat of Izumi’s breath panting against her lips in the breaks between their kisses, and the equally familiar flavor of her mouth, were incredibly distracting.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was a sweet warmth she hadn’t sampled in far too long, and it was her downfall. Izumi managed to turn her and push her into a seated position, although Kya retaliated by pulling her down as well.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After that, there was quite a lot of scratching and gasping as they stripped each other of their clothes.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Too many pieces,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Kya thought, struggling with the brass buttons on Izumi’s coat. She popped one off by accident, and received a glare of reprimand as it skittered across wooden floor. Kya decided to remove Izumi’s cloak instead. That was simpler to navigate with greedy hands. She got it off and away, although she wasn’t sure where it landed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You could be more careful with my clothes,” Izumi protested.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You have other clothes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Izumi’s white linen shirt was easy, although Kya found herself distracted as Izumi returned the favor, removing her jacket and untucking her shirt from her breeches. Their arms bumped several times, because neither of them wanted to pause and let the other gain some advantage.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>To Kya’s surprise, Izumi grew impatient before she did. Fire flared at her fingertips, and Kya gasped as thin lines of heat coiled centimeters from her skin. It didn’t burn her — Izumi had always been a masterful bender — but it did startle her. She shot Izumi a challenging look, trying not to smile. “What was that about being careful?” she said, tugging at the singed remains of her shirt.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You have other clothes,” Izumi repeated, in a delightfully mocking tone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kya groaned, lunging in for another kiss. Apparently, Izumi had decided to be a </span>
  <em>
    <span>challenge</span>
  </em>
  <span> this time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Izumi stifled a whimper as Kya kissed her, trying and failing to restrain her own hands so as not to appear too eager. Her attempts weren’t the least bit effective. They wandered where they wanted along Kya’s torso, stroking the grooves between her ribs, spreading over the taut muscles of her back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The fire at Izumi’s fingertips was long since gone, but they burned anyway. Kya’s skin was warm. Smooth. Most of the raised scars from previous injuries had softened with age, although there were one or two relatively new ones. Not fresh, but unfamiliar. Izumi made sure to give them attention, particularly a jagged knife wound in Kya’s side.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>To her surprise, Kya shuddered. Izumi broke away from the sweet well of Kya’s mouth, tilting her head in confusion. “What?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nothing. Your palms are still hot.” She pressed her hand over Izumi’s, keeping it there.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Izumi smirked. Now, that was interesting.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She concentrated, drawing from the well all benders used, the chi that flowed through her like a living river, with its own pools and eddies. Heat blossomed in her cupped hand where it rested at the curve of Kya’s hip, not enough to burn, but enough to get a reaction.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And a reaction she got. Kya trembled again, but this time with purpose. She wove her fingers through Izumi’s and moved the hand to her breast, urging her to squeeze. At the same time, she shimmied out of her breeches, seemingly eager to be naked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Izumi took the opportunity to cup both of Kya’s breasts, brushing the stiff brown peaks with her thumbs. Like setting flint to tinder, they caused sparks. Kya’s stomach muscles clenched, such an engrossing reaction that Izumi forgot to protest as Kya tipped her back onto the mattress. Not that she wanted to protest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kya’s lips latched onto her neck, hot and hungry — only they weren’t as hot as Izumi expected. When the open-mouthed kiss detached from her skin with a soft and sticky pop, she felt a chill race through her. She looked at Kya and knew. Of course there was enough wetness smeared along her throat to freeze.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Two can play,” Kya said, and Izumi trembled again at the implications. The </span>
  <em>
    <span>promise.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>After that, another struggle ensued. Izumi tried to regain control as Kya straddled her hips, but found it difficult. She slid her right hand around Kya’s back and down to cup her rear, adding a little heat for good measure, but Kya’s line of kisses continued along her shoulder, and the trail was wonderfully cold. No, not just cold. It alternated, which made it all the more distracting — the natural heat of Kya’s mouth followed by the rapid cooling of her skin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She couldn’t help it. She whimpered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kya laughed against her collarbone. “Your </span>
  <em>
    <span>noises,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Izumi… Adorable.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That stoked the flames in Izumi’s belly. She wasn’t going to keep making embarrassing sounds without earning some in return. And she certainly wasn’t going to let Kya get away with calling her adorable, of all things. She dug her nails into Kya’s backside, causing her breath to hitch and the line of kisses to break off for a moment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Best keep quiet. We don’t know who our neighbors are.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kya snorted. “I don’t care, but if you want to try and restrain yourself…” Her tone was clearly skeptical, as if she didn’t believe Izumi could.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wasn’t talking about me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Izumi gave Kya’s nipple one last pinch, then slid her left hand between Kya’s spread thighs. Without any remaining barriers, Izumi was delighted to find her lover wet. Not just wet, but soaked. There was an ocean between Kya’s soft, swollen lips, and Izumi’s heart floated, as if on the crest of a tall wave. This was because of her. For her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That didn’t take long,” she teased, trailing her fingers around the slick bud of Kya’s clit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What can I say?” Kya pushed deliberately into the touch. “I know what I want.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But Kya’s single-minded desire, while undeniably arousing, wouldn’t be nearly as enjoyable as making her work for her satisfaction. Izumi removed her hand, enjoying Kya’s groan of disappointment, and reclined on the mattress. “Me first. Impress me, and I’ll make it worth your while.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kya’s eyes narrowed, but in amusement. She laughed. “I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> a princess,” she said, in a mockery of Izumi’s voice. “Now, I’m going to lie back and order you to service me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Izumi merely raised a brow. “Well, are you going to?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kya licked her lips. Her answer was a kiss, which she bent over Izumi to deliver deeply and thoroughly. She kissed Izumi breathless, but didn’t linger long at her mouth. She forged a path down Izumi’s naked body, pausing to nip and suck at well-remembered places.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The straightforward trail of fire and ice led directly to her breasts. Kya sealed her lips around one nipple and pinched the other, causing Izumi’s pelvis to jerk forward. She found unexpected purchase against Kya’s stomach, and had to prevent herself from grinding more firmly. </span>
  <em>
    <span>You don’t want to do Kya’s job for her, so you? Not when she’s finally making herself useful instead of a nuisance…</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Kya’s mouth switched sides, while a sharp and sudden chill shot through the nipple she had abandoned. Izumi’s breath hitched. She looked down, only to see a very fine layer of ice over the sensitive peak. Thin as it was, made from saliva and moisture drawn from the air, it melted in a matter of seconds, but that was more than enough time for Izumi to feel it.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Oh. So she’s back to that trick.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Izumi ruminated on potential ways to repay such teasing — and noted a candle positioned conveniently on the nightstand — as Kya’s mouth traveled down her stomach. Like Izumi had done, she too kissed familiar scars before draping Izumi’s knees over her shoulders.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hmm. And you were making fun of how wet </span>
  <em>
    <span>I</span>
  </em>
  <span> was…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Izumi’s face flushed. Rather than offer a rejoinder, she sat part way up, combing her fingers through Kya’s hair to draw her forward.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kya might have mumbled something like ‘eager’ before her mouth set to work, but Izumi didn’t care. After a few moments of adjustment, her entire world narrowed to the sensation of Kya’s warm tongue.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A talented tongue it was, too. Good for more than just barbs, it covered her with several broad strokes before focusing on her clit, which was in desperate need of attention. This time, Izumi didn’t restrain the rocking of her hips. Kya would just have to deal with the squirming, if she was going to continue doing </span>
  <em>
    <span>that.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Fingers followed, first one, then two. They slid inside her effortlessly, and Izumi shivered at the stretch. She moaned and mumbled — curses, mostly, interspersed with Kya’s name — and bucked faster. She had meant to make Kya do most of the work, but her patience was wearing thin under such skilled service.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She got the feeling, though, that Kya was being an ass about it, too. Whenever Izumi felt release approach, or even a particularly strong wave of pleasure, Kya stopped curling her fingers, or lessened the pressure of her mouth. Izumi bit the inside of her cheek. Her attempts to draw things out had backfired.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Keeping Izumi on the edge, and reminding her that patience was a double-edged sword, was even more fun than Kya remembered. They’d done this before, of course, although not in a while. Pirating left little time for sex, companionship, or anything else. But Kya thought to herself that she should try and make more time, somehow, because Izumi was delicious. And not just how she tasted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was delicious as well, of course. The taste of heat and salt sang on Kya’s tongue, so much so that she withdrew her fingers and sucked them while Izumi gave a choked whimper. But the noises she made. Her movements. The ragged cadence of her breaths, and the way she tugged pointedly at Kya’s hair. Those things were also delicious, and Kya suddenly found herself starving.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Easy,” she mumbled, scattering kisses on Izumi’s thighs. They twitched like a horse’s flank, and Izumi’s heels dug in beneath Kya’s shoulder blades.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kya, if you don’t fuck me right now—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I will. Relax.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kya crooked her fingers, already wet from her mouth and Izumi. She reached into the air, feeling for the tiny, invisible motes of water that hung throughout. They gathered together at her call, forming a small shard of ice in her hand. She sucked the ice briefly, to make sure it wouldn’t stick to any wet flesh, and touched it to the tip of Izumi’s clit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The yowl she got almost reminded her of a cat owl. Izumi went rigid, and her long, graceful limbs tensed before relaxing in a series of shudders. Not quite an orgasm, but definitely a precursor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As she had done before, Kya alternated. She filled Izumi with her fingers, trailing the ice around her hardened clit, then switched, thrusting it inside while she sucked the cold away, soothing it with the relative warmth of her mouth. Izumi squirmed and panted, clenching desperately. Oh, it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>good</span>
  </em>
  <span> to watch a woman’s body fall apart beneath hers again, especially a body as lovely as Izumi’s.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Between her fingers, her mouth, and the slippery cube of ice, it didn’t take long. Kya stretched it out for as long as she could, but Izumi’s release came as inevitably as the tide, part of an irresistible natural rhythm. She clenched around Kya’s fingers, which had slipped inside her again, and when Kya touched the last remnants of the melted ice to Izumi’s clit, she stiffened and cried out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The contractions were swift and brutal. Powerful ripples raced through her abdomen, visible to Kya’s admiring gaze, and she felt them continue in Izumi’s flexing thighs as she lowered her mouth to the bud of Izumi’s clit, swirling her tongue around it a few more times.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kya!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oh. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Longing tugged at Kya’s belly. It had been much too long since she’d last heard that voice cry her name in </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> tone. Much too long indeed. With some amusement, she remembered Izumi’s comment about the potential for noise. Perhaps their neighbors might be mildly annoyed after all.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She eased Izumi down from her peak carefully, but with as much thoroughness as her frayed patience allowed. She sucked and licked and curled until Izumi’s tremors stilled, and she went limp aside from the appreciative heaving of her chest. Izumi looked down, amber eyes glazed with post-orgasmic bliss, and Kya couldn’t resist a smug smirk. She licked the remnants of Izumi’s release from her fingers again, making a show of it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Izumi recovered and riposted quicker than Kya expected. In a flash, Izumi was on her, kissing her deeply and passionately. If her mouth hadn’t been occupied, Kya would have grinned. </span>
  <em>
    <span>There</span>
  </em>
  <span> was the fire she enjoyed so much, the fire that Izumi tried and often failed to hide behind her usual serious, frosty demeanor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re cruel,” Izumi muttered between kisses. “That was </span>
  <em>
    <span>cruel.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Kya tried and failed to catch her breath, but she returned Izumi’s kisses as fiercely as she could, despite the burn in her lungs and the dizziness in her head. “You asked for it,” she pointed out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Izumi nipped her lower lip, then departed, leaving Kya feeling strangely cold. She’d grown used to the warmth of shared skin, and she reached out to get it back. Pleasing Izumi had only fed her own desire, and she needed to come: hard, and soon.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you…?” Her voice trailed off as she noticed what Izumi was doing. “Is that a candle?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Izumi rolled her eyes. “No. Why would you possibly think that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kya sat up, darting in for another brief kiss, this time on the tip of Izumi’s nose. She really was beautiful when she was annoyed. “It was a rhetorical question.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re a rhetorical ass.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Izumi pushed Kya back onto the bed by placing one hand on her sternum, holding the candle in the other. Although Kya suspected what she was about to do, and gave a subtle nod when Izumi searched her eyes for approval, the first drip of hot wax on her belly was still a shock. Izumi’s firebending heated it far more quickly than a natural flame would have, but it wasn’t so hot that it burned. The warm drops of melted wax felt </span>
  <em>
    <span>good</span>
  </em>
  <span> spattering against her skin, rolling a little before they cooled and hardened.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Almost too good.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kya squeezed her thighs together. Izumi wasn’t even touching between her legs, but the teasing was getting to her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Izumi poured a trail down the center of her stomach, then off to one side, letting it end at her hip bone. Kya curled her toes against the sheets. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Fuck.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> It was like a thin line of fire, only all pleasure and no pain. “This is payback for the ice, isn’t it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You aren’t the only one with tricks. You’d do well to remember.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kya shivered. “You say that like I don’t know.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Izumi dripped another trail of wax on Kya’s skin, this time following her thigh. It led up, toward the ache between her legs, and Kya hissed through gritted teeth. It still didn’t hurt, but the </span>
  <em>
    <span>waiting</span>
  </em>
  <span> definitely did. She tensed, trying to ground herself as Izumi spread more wax on her other thigh, starting at her knee and winding up in a serpentine pattern.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Izumi, if you don’t fuck me right now—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>If Izumi noticed that Kya had stolen her earlier words, she didn’t let on. But she did slide the fingers of her other hand between Kya’s legs, pushing easily inside her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The fullness didn’t take much adjustment, but it was overwhelming. Her body was more than ready, and she squeezed around Izumi’s fingers, twitching as they found the sensitive spot along her front wall. They curled in a practiced motion, and Kya moaned as more wax dripped in a circle around her navel.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re enjoying this,” Izumi said, smirking down at her. Gloating.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kya didn’t deny it. “Harder,” she panted, rolling her hips against Izumi’s hand. Its heel rubbed against her clit, and she threw her head back, arching to show her need. Luckily, Izumi seemed to be done teasing. She set the candle back on the nightstand and set to work, kissing a trail alongside the wax on Kya’s belly and putting her mouth to good use.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her tongue was almost as warm as the wax, and much softer and wetter. It circled Kya’s clit expertly, with exactly the right amount of pressure, and Kya couldn’t resist shoving her hands into Izumi’s thick, glossy hair. She tugged, only just restraining herself from pulling too hard. Her peak was approaching swiftly, and she wasn’t sure she could hold it off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come,” Izumi murmured, peppering kisses over her thighs. Kya twitched with neglect, and she clenched unhappily around Izumi’s fingers. “I want it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Those three simple words coaxed a flood from Kya’s core. She cried out, forgetting her efforts to be gentle with Izumi’s hair, and came, cursing all the while. “Fuck, Izumi, keep going — fuck me, that’s so good, </span>
  <em>
    <span>shit,</span>
  </em>
  <span> just like that…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Izumi didn’t seem to mind the stream of profanity. In fact, she increased her efforts, sucking Kya’s clit and pumping her fingers furiously. Kya appreciated the added roughness. She raked her nails along Izumi’s scalp, rolling her hips with abandon. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Izumi had such a talented mouth… </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Far too soon, it ended. Her orgasm had come and gone like a storm at sea, violent while it lasted, leaving behind only a peaceful haze. Within that haze, Kya realized some of her fears had left, at least temporarily. She was no longer on edge, afraid Ozai’s soldiers might find her. And if they did, she knew Izumi would probably help her escape in one piece… even if they didn’t like each other all that much.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Well, she doesn’t like me. I like her a lot, I think… Things are just complicated.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Nevertheless, Kya softened her grip on Izumi’s hair, stroking it in thanks. Izumi didn’t seem to mind the affectionate gesture. In fact, she pushed into it. “I needed that,” she admitted, softly and with some hesitation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Me too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They rested in silence for a minute, before Kya found the strength to sit up, pick off the remnants of wax, and flip the other way along the bed so she could lie next to Izumi and drape an arm around her waist. Izumi was just going to have to suffer through some cuddling.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>To Kya’s surprise, Izumi didn’t seem to mind. “If you haven’t bought a room yet, you can share mine,” she said. “At least for tonight. But this doesn’t mean anything.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The denial came a bit too quick, and Kya couldn’t help grinning. “Of course not,” she said. “As long as you don’t go pointing any more weapons at my back.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No promises,” Izumi muttered. Her eyes wandered to a far corner of the room, and Kya noted an empty tub basin sitting there.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you want me to call for a bath?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Izumi nodded. “Yes. And we can have dinner sent up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kya’s stomach rumbled. She’d had a drink, but nothing to eat aside from Izumi — and she had a feeling she was going to need her strength. “I’ll take care of it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“With some good wine, though,” Izumi said as she departed from the bed. “None of that terrible ale you usually drink.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kya laughed. Some things never changed, she supposed — but maybe other things did. And maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
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